Written Answers Wednesday 27 October 2010

Scottish Executive

Benefits

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will monitor the pilot scheme on changes to incapacity benefit in Aberdeen with a view to contributing to the independent review of the process announced by the UK Government.

Alex Neil: My officials will continue to liaise with the Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus, local employability partners and health services to monitor developments from the trial in Aberdeen on changes to incapacity benefit. I am not aware of any independent review of the trial being undertaken by the UK Government.

Children's Hearings (Scotland) Bill

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total staff cost has been incurred in researching, consulting on and preparing the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Bill.

Adam Ingram: Scottish Government staff complete many tasks, as part of their day to day duties, and as such the information requested cannot be accurately calculated.

Children's Hearings (Scotland) Bill

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what costs have been incurred in engaging consultants and external advisers in researching and preparing the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Bill.

Adam Ingram: None.

Children's Hearings (Scotland) Bill

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost has been of consultation and engagement events for Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Bill, including the hire of venues, staff costs, travelling expenses, hospitality and consultants and external advisers.

Adam Ingram: The total cost of consultation and engagement events for Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Bill is £152,000. This enabled 19 events to be held allowing more than 1000 stakeholders to share their knowledge, expertise and experience and thus influence the development of the Bill. Evaluation from key partners who attended these events has been overwhelmingly positive in support of this open and effective approach.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what organisations have been invited to join the stakeholder group that it is forming to assess the impact of the UK Government’s proposed changes in housing benefit.

Alex Neil: The following housing interests are being invited to sit on the advisory group:

  
  COSLA;  
Council of Mortgage Lenders;
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations; 
Chartered Institute of Housing;
Equalities groups;
Shelter (Scotland);
Housing Support Enabling Unit to nominate housing support provider;
Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers; 
Citizens Advice Scotland;
Scottish Council for Single Homeless;
Two COSLA nominated local authorities (urban and rural);
Consumer Focus (Scotland); and
Scottish Rural Property and Business Association.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress there has been in seeking investment in social rented housing from pension funds.

Alex Neil: I spoke at the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference in Liverpool on 7 October 2010, and the Scottish Government is in continuing discussions with pension funds, fund managers and advisers about the investment opportunities provided by social and affordable housing. Officials are also talking to the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and their members about the opportunities presented by pension funds as a source of innovative finance.

  A policy paper on housing priorities will be published this winter which will include plans for future funding options like pension funds.

Housing

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes have residual current devices (RCD) and how many homes in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth do not have RCDs.

Alex Neil: Information on the number of homes which have residual current devices is not held centrally.

Ministerial Engagements

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements there have been in the Ochil constituency since 2008, broken down by (a) ministerial portfolio, (b) date and (c) location.

John Swinney: The information requested is not routinely recorded and is therefore not held in the format requested. Systems were put in place on 8 March 2010 to collect this information more easily and we have provided the following tables.

  Alex Salmond MSP

  First Minister

  

Date
Constituency
Location


23 March 2010
Ochil
Kinross


17 June 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling


9 September 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling


10 September 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling



  Fiona Hyslop MSP

  Minister for Culture and External Affairs

  

Date
Constituency
Location


10 July 2010
Ochil
Kinross



  John Swinney MSP

  Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth

  

Date
Constituency
Location


24 March 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling


7 June 2010
Ochil
Bridge of Allan



  Stewart Stevenson MSP

  Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change

  

Date
Constituency
Location


8 September 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling



  Nicola Sturgeon MSP

  Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing

  

Date
Constituency
Location


28 June 2010
Ochil 
University of Stirling


26 September 2010
Ochil 
University of Stirling



  Shona Robison MSP

  Minister for Public Health and Sport

  

Date
Constituency
Location


16 June 2010
Ochil 
University of Stirling


18 August 2010
Ochil 
University of Stirling


4 September 2010
Ochil 
University of Stirling



  Alex Neil MSP

  Minister for Housing and Communities

  

Date
Constituency
Location


14 June 2010
Ochil
Alloa


16 June 2010
Ochil
Alloa


 
Ochil
University of Stirling



  Michael Russell MSP

  Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning

  

Date
Constituency
Location


19 May 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling


14 Jun 2010
Ochil
Dollar


13 July 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling


13 September 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling



  Keith Brown MSP

  Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning

  

Date
Constituency
Location


18 March 2010
Ochil
Alloa


23 March 2010
Ochil
Kinross


26 April 2010
Ochil
Alloa


14 June 2010
Ochil
Dollar


24 August 2010
Ochil
Alloa



  Adam Ingram MSP

  Minister for Children and Early Years

  

Date
Constituency
Location


29 June 2010
Ochil
Kinross High School



  Kenny MacAskill MSP

  Cabinet Secretary for Justice

  

Date
Constituency
Location


1 October 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling



  Fergus Ewing MSP

  Minister for Community Safety

  

Date
Constituency
Location


11 September 2010
Ochil
University of Stirling

Ministerial Engagements

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements there have been in the Perth constituency since 2008, broken down by (a) ministerial portfolio, (b) date and (c) location.

John Swinney: The information requested is not routinely recorded and is therefore not held in the format requested. Systems were put in place on 8 March 2010 to collect this information more easily and we have provided the following tables.

  Fiona Hyslop MSP

  Minister for Culture and External Affairs

  

Date
Constituency
Location


22 June 2010
Perth
Perth



  John Swinney MSP

  Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth

  

Date
Constituency
Location


8 March 2010
Perth
Loaninghead


12 July 2010
Perth
Perth


14 July 2010
Perth
Perth



  Stewart Stevenson MSP

  Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change

  

Date
Constituency
Location


21 June 2010
Perth
Crieff


23 July 2010
Perth
Comrie



  Jim Mather MSP

  Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism

  

Date
Constituency
Location


7 July 2010
Perth 
Crieff



  Shona Robison MSP

  Minister for Public Health and Sport

  

Date
Constituency
Location


12 June 2010
Perth
Perth


15 July 2010
Perth
Forgandenny


26 August 2010
Perth
Perth


31 August 2010
Perth
Perth



  Alex Neil MSP

  Minister for Housing and Communities

  

Date
Constituency
Location


19 July 2010
Perth
Perth



  Adam Ingram MSP

  Minister for Children and Early Years

  

Date
Constituency
Location


14 May 2010
Perth
Crieff Hydro



  Richard Lochhead MSP

  Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment

  

Date
Constituency
Location


27 April 2010
Perth
Perth



  Roseanna Cunningham MSP

  Minister for Environment

  

Date
Constituency
Location


5 July 2010
Perth
Perth


20 September 2010
Perth
Crieff


27 September 2010
Perth
Perth



  Kenny MacAskill MSP

  Cabinet Secretary for Justice

  

Date
Constituency
Location


31 March 2010
Perth
Perth


25 June 2010
Perth
Perth



  Fergus Ewing MSP

  Minister for Community Safety

  

Date
Constituency
Location


21 June 2010
Perth
Crieff

Prison Service

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of prisoners at HMP Edinburgh was assessed as having an alcohol problem in 2009-10.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Every prisoner admitted to HMP Edinburgh goes through an initial health screening by a nurse. Prisoners are all asked about historical and current alcohol misuse to ascertain immediate clinical need. Prisoners serving over 31 days in custody, identified with an alcohol misuse problem, are offered a comprehensive substance misuse assessment:

  In 2009-10 there were 748 substance misuse referrals made of which 15% (114) were assessed for further alcohol intervention.

Prison Service

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of prisoners at HMP Edinburgh was assessed as having a substance abuse problem in 2009-10.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Every prisoner admitted to HMP Edinburgh goes through an initial health screening by a nurse. Prisoners are all asked about historical and current substance misuse to ascertain immediate clinical need. Prisoners serving over 31 days in custody, identified with a substance misuse problem, are offered a comprehensive substance misuse assessment,:

  In 2009-10 there were 748 referrals made of which 70% (529) undertook an assessment.

  52% (389) of those referred were assessed for drugs;

  15% (114) of those referred were assessed for alcohol; and

  3% (26) of those referred were assessed for both drugs and alcohol.

  It should be noted that data relating to assessments carried out for both drugs and alcohol only began being collated in April 2010.

Prison Service

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of prisoners at HMP Addiewell has been assessed as having an alcohol problem in each year since it opened.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Prisoners in HMP Addiewell serving over 31 days in custody, identified with a substance misuse problem, are offered a comprehensive substance misuse assessment.

  The prison opened on 12 December 2008.

  In 2008-09 of the 206 referrals made 8% (16) were assessed as having an alcohol problem.

  In 2009-10 of the 493 referrals made 6% (30) were assessed as having an alcohol problem.

  Referrals continue to be made to the addictions team after the initial assessment and the team estimate that of the total prison population of 700 30% (210) have an alcohol problem.

Prison Service

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of prisoners at HMP Addiewell has been assessed as having a substance abuse problem in each year since it opened.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Prisoners in HMP Addiewell serving over 31 days in custody, identified with a substance misuse problem, are offered a comprehensive substance misuse assessment.

  The prison opened on 12 December 2008.

  In 2008-09 of the 206 referrals made 38% (78) were assessed as having an a substance abuse problem.

  In 2009-10 of the 493 referrals made 37% (182) were assessed as having a substance abuse problem.

  Referrals continue to be made to the addictions team after the initial assessment and the team estimate that of the total prison population of 700 around 75% (525) have a substance abuse problem.

Prison Service

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners in HMP Edinburgh have been tested for drugs in each year since 2008, broken down by the number of positive tests and substances identified.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Since 1 January 2009 until 30 September 2010 a total of 2,592 mandatory drug tests have been carried out in HMP Edinburgh with 838 resulting in a positive drug test.

  The following table provides greater detail:

  

Month
No. of Tests
Result  Positive
Positive Result


Cannabis
Opiates
Benzodiazepines
Methadone
Cocaine
Buprenorphine


January 2008
86
31
2
12
1
23
1
1


February 2008
94
26
2
16
1
10
 
1


March 2008
90
22
2
7
2
10
 
 


April 2008
88
26
 
10
2
16
 
1


May 2008
69
24
1
13
2
13
 
1


June 2008
104
25
1
9
 
16
 
1


July 2008
95
37
10
17
4
17
 
1


August 2008
107
33
17
10
8
15
 
5


September 2008
108
29
5
10
4
13
1
4


October 2008
70
16
 
4
1
12
 
 


November 2008
84
26
3
8
5
13
 
2


December 2008 
64
22
4
9
1
15
 
3

 

Total
1059
317
47
125
31
173
2
20



  

Month
No. of Tests
Result  Positive
Positive Result


Cannabis
Opiates
Benzodiazepines
Methadone
Cocaine
Buprenorphine


January 2009
109
43
1
7
8
27
 
7


February 2009
78
28
 
5
5
22
 
5


March 2009
63
20
 
4
 
14
 
5


April 2009
87
24
2
10
6
19
 
8


May 2009
62
29
 
5
4
14
 
2


June 2009
50
11
3
5
2
6
 
2


July 2009
24
9
4
4
1
6
 
 


August 2009
78
26
3
17
6
14
 
3


September 2009
96
28
 
12
3
17
 
1


October 2009
64
29
1
18
3
18
 
3


November  2009
48
16
 
6
 
13
 
2


December 2009
75
29
2
15
2
13
3
4


Total
834
292
16
108
40
183
3
42



  

Month
No. of Tests
Result  Positive
Positive Result


Cannabis
Opiates
Benzodiazepines
Methadone
Cocaine
Buprenorphine


January 2010
65
14
 
4
 
9
 
1


February  2010
79
26
 
7
3
20
 
1


March 2010
81
31
 
13
4
23
 
1


April 2010
75
31
5
13
2
23
 
4


May 2010
88
30
2
10
3
17
 
3


June 2010
69
19
 
8
2
20
 
 


July 2010
52
16
 
7
1
10
 
 


August 2010
99
34
 
10
1
23
 
1


September 2010
91
28
 
9
 
20
 
 


Total
699
229
7
81
16
165
0
11


Totals
2592
838
70
314
87
521
5
73

Prison Service

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners in HMP Addiewell have been tested for drugs in each year since it opened, broken down by the number of positive tests and substances identified.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The prison opened on 12 December 2008.

  In 2008-09: nil. As the population was in build up phase during this period.

  In 2009-10: 139 tested, 12 of which proved positive. The substances found were:

  Opiates: 7

  Cannabis: 4

  Amphetamine: 4

  Methadone: 3

  Buprenorphine: 4

  Benzodiazepine: 3

  In addition in 2009-10, Addiewell tested prisoners as part of the SPS Addictions Prevalence Testing programme. This involves the testing of prisoners on admission and prior to liberation during one month.

  Of the 62 prisoners tested on admission 41 (66%) tested positive for drugs.

  The substances found were:

  Benzodiazepine: 36

  Opiates: 24

  Methadone: 2

  Amphetamine: 1

  Cocaine: 11

  Of the 69 prisoners tested prior to liberation 19 (28%) tested positive for drugs.

  The substances found were:

  Benzodiazepine: 13

  Opiates: 5

  Buprenorphine: 3

Prison Service

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the training available to Scottish Prison Service staff at HMP (a) Edinburgh and (b) Addiewell.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  Staff at HMP Edinburgh comprise a diverse range of roles and professions, some requiring prior qualification and membership of professional bodies. As such their competence requirements are also very diverse. A broad range of training tools and interventions are deployed to support them, both locally and led by the SPS college at Polmont.

  Kalyx are sub-contracted by Addiewell Prison Limited to manage HMP Addiewell on behalf of Scottish Ministers. A copy of the contract is published on the SPS website.

  With the exception of the SPS controllers team, the staff are employees of Kalyx. The contract requires that Kalyx staff are trained and competent to carry out their role.

Prison Service

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of the prisoner progression and community reintegration facilities available at HMP (a) Edinburgh and (b) Addiewell.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  HMP Edinburgh and HMP Addiewell offer a full range of progression facilities for all prisoners sent into their custody identified through the initial screening process and through the subsequent integrated case management (ICM) process. All prisoners have initial risk and needs identified through core screen assessments and are referred for subsequent offender management and throughcare assessment as required. As part of the enhanced ICM process, prisoners are referred to criminal justice social work with an identified community based criminal justice social worker who agrees a community integration plan with the establishment and attends regular ICM case conferences.

  Each establishment also operates a link centre where multi-agency and multi-discipline assessment and referral takes place to assist with sentence progression and reintegration with the community for those prisoners not on the enhanced ICM process.

  Each establishment has well established risk management processes including multi-disciplinary progression management groups that ensure appropriate assessment to allow for internal progression through the prison estate to national top-end and open conditions. In addition, both establishments facilitate home detention curfew for those eligible prisoners who qualify for early release on licence.

Renewable Energy

Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings it has had with the Spanish manufacturing firm, Gamesa, regarding investment in the Scottish renewables industry and what future meetings it has planned.

Jim Mather: The First Minister met Gamesa in Scotland in June 2010 and in Bilbao in September 2010. Scottish Development International officials have had a number of meetings with the company including meetings that took place during the company’s visits to Scotland in June and October 2010.

  Future meetings with the company will take place with a view to further influencing how the company progresses its proposed investment.

Scottish Water

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many sites listed in the Scottish Water Register of Assets contain private water pumps owned by domestic customers; how many pumps are on each site; how many pumps are shared and how many customers can access each pump.

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many sites listed in the Scottish Water Register of Assets containing private water pumps owned by domestic customers have been declared surplus to requirements and sold off by public auction in each of the last 10 years; how many pumps were on each site; how many pumps were shared and how many customers had access to each pump.

Stewart Stevenson: This information is not held centrally and I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Water to reply to the member.